It's all about music. About getting involved, finding true music love and showing support to musicians who are worth one's effort and dedication.

Mittwoch, 4. September 2013

EP review: The Wild Young Hearts - ‘Pretty Girls’. No shallow but complex and steady rock music

Cover of 'Pretty Girls'

With the
narrowly defined and conclusive title the 4-piece LA based rock band The Wild Young Hearts, formerly known as Streetcar
Rendezvous (when people struggled to pronounce and write their band name correctly the guys thought it would be best to make it more obvious and easy and TWYH was born) has chosen for their second EP (‘Pretty Girls’), the listener might anticipate
and connote light and shallow music, music one has heard before somewhere else,
music that covers themes often dealt with: love, relationships, attraction,
heartbreak. But if the audience is willing to look deeper, to grant the songs
time to evolve, it soon finds that the themes might mainly be nothing new, the
music approach and execution though is striking. In fact the staging and
arrangement of songs on ‘Pretty Girls’ show both diversity and notability.

Rock 'N' Roll advocates: The Wild Young Hearts

The Wild Youg Hearts, brought into being in the summer of 2012 by Robert Laffoon (vocals)
and his roommate Justin David Norman Hagen (guitar), eventually complemented
and advanced with the contribution of Garrett Warren (bass) and Michael
Southcomb (drums), satisfys
with a clever and spirited setup concept, a varied but still focused sound. One
that is shaped by the band’s endeavor to create sincere and soulful Rock’N’Roll,
to compose songs which thrill and inspire, which bear an authentic and
unaltered, raw yet matured sound. A sound that kicks of with rhythmic and driven
melodies, melodies which not only invite the listener to move but also to sing
along.

There’s no
intention of mine to spoil one’s very own listening experience, one’s musical
journey whilst indulging in the dynamic and delightful songs of ‘Pretty Girls’,
but let’s put it that way: it has been a successful endeavor. The band has come up with an exciting and
refreshing sound, interesting enough to stick to it, conformed enough to be
seen as enthusiastic devotion to the great rock anthemsThe Wild Young Hearts
aspires to equal.

‘What We Know Is Wrong’, the first track of the EP, doesn’t fit the theme of love
centredcompositions, of hopeful, failed or fated to fail relationship and love
affair based storylines the other songs on ‘Pretty Girls’ depict, but
considering the song wasn’t initially planned to be released as an EP single,
there’s no surprise to it. Yet it’s not solely its topic that makes ‘What We Know Is Wrong’ stand out, it’s the entire conception and message of the song
that makes it excel.

From the
energetic setup which depends on driven guitar and constantly vibrant drum
sound, both rising within the course of the track, to the rather reserved vocal
performance which is expressive and resonant in sonority, the first song of
‘Pretty Girls’ convinces with a
thoughtout compositional concept. A concept which is even intensified when the
rap part of RJ Wallace, who is with the San Diego hip hop group ‘Brother
Nature’, sets in and adds an impetuous and trenchant note to the track. A
concept that plays well along with the meaning of the song: as evocative as the
melodies and as remarkable as the vocals are, so are the lyrics. They ask the
listener to pay attention to social media control, to be aware that falsities
are spread and infomation is hold back by those in charge. It’s not a restraint,
it’s a reverberative and sonorous appeal to be more conscious and attentive in
respect to one’s living conditions.

A light
(did you spot the elated whistling?) and blithe composition follows, not
lacking the defining elements of The Wild Young Hearts’ sound: eccentric vocals,
orotund guitar, bass melodies and keen drum rhythms. ‘Caroline’ expresses the
wish to be be free of all too harsh and confining restrictions - may it by
social media, may it be by governmental control - in a more subtle way than
‘What We Know Is Wrong’ does (‘we can finally be free’). The lyrical focus
though is on a relationship based storyline: it tells of desire, attraction, of
containment in action and freedom of thoughts.

Up next: a
bluesy instrumental interlude, soulful and imbuing piano sound, contributed by Alain
Tomszak, announces a thematic change. It’s still relationships the songs
portray yet the last three compositions of the EP show the rather melancholic and dismal shades of
love.

‘There Goes My Baby’ resounds and as it does, clangorous vocals speak of parting and methods of dealing with the loss
of someone you love, whilst the dominant guitar and drum sound add a gloomy and
depressing shade to the song, which is further stressed and emphasized by the
overall forceful and brisk instrumental staging of the fourth track on the EP.

It’s by the
intense and impressive, staggering manner the instrumental arrangement is
presented in, that the listener is led to the conclusion that the lover is left
without any opportunity for action.

Typical garage rock elements - profound and orotund, rasping guitar and bass
sound - are combined with soulful lyrics
on ‘Skin and Bones’, a song that plainly and imposingly shows the storytelling
character of ‘Pretty Girls’, a song which itself is rather slow in both melody
and pace. Yet a song that shows off with eccentric highlights due to its edgy
vocals and gripping guitar riffs. The listener soon finds himself utterly involved
in the story told and wants toexplore the depth of the composition as much as
the lover wants to explore his beloved one’s soul and emotions. Fascinating!

Rough and
scratchy vocals, rhythmic drum and bass sound mingle and unfold the story of a
heartbroken who lost all his drive and ambition due to his beloved one’s
distance. It’s by far the most emotional song of the EP, conveying a sad
undertone that finds echo in the lyrics of ‘Sleep’: ‘I’ve been wasting every
night/singing the saddest songs’. A crowning musical finish isshowcased as the sixth track
makes aptly use of the tonal (salient and prevailing, resonant guitar, restrained
but characteristic bass and enthusiastic drum sound) and vocal (edgy yet smooth
timbre) components the other songs of ‘Pretty Girls’ feature too but distinguishes itself through a more personal and impulsive way of storytelling.

People who
know my taste in music well and who have read this blog attentively, have noticed my affection for Southern
California’s music scene (my favourite band Midnight Houris based in the OC
area) without any doubt, hence there’s no need to deny that this very affection
might have influenced my first impression of the musicThe Wild Young Heartscomposes. My thoughts and visions of the songs, that developed whilst listening
to ‘Pretty Girls’ time after time though, have (slightly) modified and
amplified my initial impression of the band, my opinion of their music has been
intensified and shaped the more I
indulged into the melodies of the songs, the more I delved into their
structures and lyrics (you see my approach toThe Wild Young Hearts’ music has
been the same as to every other band, whatever place the musicians are based). It turned
out that my first impression of The Wild Young Hearts has been confirmed and
moreover extended: the band’s sound is yet diverse and not fully refined but claims
some defining elements already (a dominant and intense instrumental setup,
eccentric and egdy vocals), it’s a spirited and candid one. It’s music that
stirrs and moves, that evokes emotions many can easily relate to - grief due to
loss and refusal, the joy and excitement of love and attraction, the need and
ambition to make a change caused by curiosity and sharpness. It’s music that
makes you want to listen to more (how’s about their first EP ‘The Wild Young Hearts’?), that makes you want to see what
lies ahead of this ‘young and rather unexperienced’ (keep in mind, The Wild Young Hearts has been only around since the summer of 2012) but extremely promising
band.

So, tell me
now, are you willing to come along and see where the road takes The Wild Young Hearts? It’s the best if you start with listening to both of their EPs
(they have grown in sound since their first release in January 2013). Give
their songs some time to evolve, to grab you with its melodies and vocal
resonance - and you will sooner or later find it’s a not fully engineered soundyet,
but one that definitely gonna linger on your mind with its impressive and
imbuing, above all with its harmonic and complex vocal and instrumental
interaction.

Reach out
to the band and let them know what you think of their music:

Über mich

It's all about music. And friends (with whom I like to watch movies, play table games, talk, laugh, go away on short trips, see concerts). And latin (2nd passion). I love to fully indulge into songs, learn about their structure, motives, arrangement, meaning... and write about it. I also enjoy promoting bands/musicians I believe in. I'm studying Latin/History (educational branch) to become a teacher one day. I'm a proud songs selector for fab indie-internet radio RKC, guest blogger for When The Horn Blows and love to contribute to other music blogs/projects as well. It's 'dum spiro, spero' - as long as I breathe, I hope, and I really hope to make people explore music more decently, make them grow fond of the latin language, plus I hope to see some of the bands I support live one day.